Just a couple of items.....

Last Christmas I was given a daily calendar called "This day in U.S. Military History".  I've found it personally interesting... especially for those dates involving the Revolutionary War and our Civil War since I'm very interested in American history - especially the history which involved my paternal family line since about 1650 (and any maternal lines I can find). 

However, of interest, on the 16th of September I note that "United States imposes the draft".  It says, "On this day in 1940, the Burke-Wadsworth Act is passed by Congress, by wide margins in both houses, and the first peacetime draft in the hisory of the United States is imposed. Selective Service was born!

It not only preceded our involvement in WWII which was declared in December of 1941 but continued on long enough for me to almost be drafted for the Korean Peace Action. In January 1950, I was number 16 on the draft list for that month in Santa Clara County in California so I immediately enlisted in the Unites States Air Force where I might have a better chance of doing something more useful rather than kill the enemy - or be killed!

I served my time well, I think, and was more successful in doing good for my country (and myself) during my four year stint in the USAF than I would as "canon fodder" in a campaign which has historically received mixed blessings as a justifiable war -- the first of several later wars which, I think have been totally unjustifiable!  Most important for me, of course, is that I survived!

We don't have the draft now having opted to hire a mercenary military. The reason for this, of course, is that when one's children are faced with being drafted during wartime, as one of my kids were....  and the war is not popular, the government which favors war has a serious political problem! So the draft was eliminated and the Vietnam war was ended just before my son would have had to serve. So, no problem, right?

Actually, not right! ....because how else can the parents of a nation's children object to their country going to war because, after all, their children are volunteers?  Obviously those who go to war are willing to go to war! Isn't it interesting that all males in Switzerland must serve in the nation's military?  Switzerland hasn't gone to war within my lifetime of eighty years!

I think that probably the only way to end our warlike behavior is to re-invoke the draft!

The demise of solar energy in America?

I read recently that solar energy and probably any alternative energy efforts were a boondoggle and died when Solyndra went bankrupt and that Obama's support for the company made him complicit in the crime.

Let me suggest a US News and World Report which commented this week and I quote, that, "Solyndra, a solar manufacturing company based in Fremont, Calif., that specialized in producing a newtype of cylindrical solar photovoltaic panels, was the Obama administration’s clean energy poster child back in September 2009 when it announced a loan guarantee deal with the Energy Department. Early this month, however, after receiving $527 million in federal funds over two years, the company filed for bankruptcy protection"

But that is not the end of the story. As the article said, "According to the Energy Department, more than two years of due diligence were completed before the loan was approved. At the time, Solyndra’s new rolled-tube technology showed potential."

"However, after the deal was signed, the global solar market changed, as did Solyndra’s business prospects. A large influx of Chinese state loans to domestic silicon producers and a decline in demand in the European market drove down the price of polysilicon, and Solyndra lost its competitive advantage with other solar manufacturers around the world."

"Also, Solyndra’s bust demonstrates that the global market often moves faster than the federal government," says Nick Loris, an energy policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “This just goes to show that it isn’t the role of the government to pick winners and losers, and usually the government’s picking the losers because the winners can compete in the marketplace without the subsidies,” Loris says.

Really?  Let me suggest that it was the US Government which put a man on the Moon along with the enumerable programs which created the technological advances we now enjoy in computers, TV, cell phones, and virtually anything digital!. Private industry has never had the financial ability to encourage and develop the scientific advances which were made in the 20th century which were sponsored by the US Government -- but they certainly took advantage of them the results of the research - provided for free by the taxpayer!

However, considering the loss of Solyndra and its solar cell efforts, let me mention a headline in the September 2011 issue of the "Economic Development Journal", a newspaper serving Mohave County [AZ]. They announced  that "Site appraisals underway for $6 billion solar energy industrial complex in Laughlin [NV]."

The article which is rather long and detailed, starts out with the statement, "Site appraisals are underway to determine the value of 5,400 acres that a Chinese company wants to lease or purchase for development of a large solar energy industrial complex in south Laughlin, Nev., and project site is uniquely situated to deliver power to the California market."

It goes on to say that, "A lawyer acting as an agent for Mojave Energy Corporation, former Nevada Governor and Senator Richard Bryan, said the company wants to build and operate a one-million square-foot, 720-megawatt solar generating facility that would manufacture solar panels and employ 2,000 people in permanent skilled manufacturing positions."

Is this deja vu all over again?  Remember when the Japanese controlled the automotive market and American automakers couldn't compete?  Too young? -- well, I remember!  I think the thing to remember is that one shouldn't
blame anyone for the failure of a company when times and competition changes. At this point all we can really say is that the Chinese are better at capitalism than we are!  As I recall, the Japanese started up automobile manufacturing plants in depressed places like Tennessee and didn't have to deal with fair labor laws or unions.......

August 19, 1953: CIA Backs Coup Against Iranian Government

I'm posting this from my "This Day in U.S. Military History" calendar produced by www.History.com.

My reason is to remind us of the fact that there are many things we did to people and nations during the 'Cold War' which today are coming home to roost. .....in this case, Iran! [AG]

The Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States government, overthrows the government of Premier Mohammed Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran. Iran remained a solid Cold War ally of the United States until a revolution ended the Shah's rule in 1979.

Mosaddeq came to prominence in Iran in 1951 when he was appointed premier. A fierce nationalist, Mosaddeq immediately began attacks on British oil companies operating in his country, calling for expropriation and nationalization of the oil fields. His actions brought him into conflict with the pro-Western elites of Iran and the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi. Indeed, the Shah dismissed Mossadeq in mid-1952, but massive public riots condemning the action forced the Shah to reinstate Mossadeq a short time later. U.S. officials watched events in Iran with growing suspicion. British intelligence sources, working with the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), came to the conclusion that Mossadeq had communist leanings and would move Iran into the Soviet orbit if allowed to stay in power. Working with Shah, the CIA and British intelligence began to engineer a plot to overthrow Mossadeq. The Iranian premier, however, got wind of the plan and called his supporters to take to the streets in protest. At this point, the Shah left the country for "medical reasons." While British intelligence backed away from the debacle, the CIA continued its covert operations in Iran. Working with pro-Shah forces and, most importantly, the Iranian military, the CIA cajoled, threatened, and bribed its way into influence and helped to organize another coup attempt against Mossadeq. On August 19, 1953, the military, backed by street protests organized and financed by the CIA, overthrew Mossadeq. The Shah quickly returned to take power and, as thanks for the American help, signed over 40 percent of Iran's oil fields to U.S. companies.

Mossadeq was arrested, served three years in prison, and died under house arrest in 1967. The Shah became one of America's most trusted Cold War allies, and U.S. economic and military aid poured into Iran during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In 1978, however, anti-Shah and anti-American protests broke out in Iran and the Shah was toppled from power in 1979. Angry militants seized the U.S. embassy and held the American staff hostage until January 1981. Nationalism, not communism, proved to be the most serious threat to U.S. power in Iran.

How the 'debt deal' will affect retirees

So, friends and relatives, we must now become much more aware of our economic future as we enter a new age of "everyman for himself" government. For the first time in American (including colonial) history, the 'old folks at home' are now on their own -- and hopefully they chose wisely!

By Robert Powell, MarketWatch
Aug. 4, 2011

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Now for the hard part. Retirees and those on the cusp of their golden years will need to revisit their financial plan in the wake of President Barack Obama signing the debt-ceiling law.

The new law calls for $1 trillion in spending cuts spread over the next 10 years. And though it’s short on specifics, experts say there’s still plenty older Americans should put on their to-do and to-think-about list. Here’s the list. Work on plan B

If there’s any lesson to be learned from the recent debacle in Washington, D.C., it’s this: Don’t run your personal finances the way the U.S. government does. “Don’t live beyond your means, and don’t increase your debt levels, especially when heading into retirement,” said Greg Rosica, a tax partner in the personal financial services group at Ernst & Young and a contributing author to the Ernst & Young Tax Guide 2011. “Don’t emulate the federal government.”

Get your 401(k) back on track
With millions out of work, many people have been forced to take a break from contributing to their retirement account. But once they start saving again, how can they get back on track? Here are some tips.

More retirement advice
• The 10 worst states for retirees
• Tax mistakes to avoid in your retirement plan
• Eight retirement resolutions
• Seven steps to a sound retirement Investing in retirement
• What to ask before buying an annuity
• Special Report: Retirement income for life
• Retirement products' rising prices Social Security and Medicare
• Four Medicare myths
• Hike your Social Security benefits
• Figuring your Social Security benefits
• Social Security: What couples should know
• Timing your Social Security benefits
• Fix Social Security by hiking retirement age
• Delaying benefits can pay off on Social Security

That aside, Rosica is of the mindset that the best thing retirees and would-be retirees could do now is to prepare for whatever specific cuts (and possibly taxes) might come when the committee charged with coming up with the details of the debt deal meet later this year.

For instance, retirees and would-be retirees should review the federal or state programs which they rely upon for services or income and consider the effect of cuts to those programs. It’s a bit nebulous at the moment, but it’s working on a plan B, he said. “If you rely on some specific program for day-to-day living it would be wise to know how you would be affected by spending cuts,” Rosica said.

As part of this exercise, experts suggested that older Americans rethink their retirement model and run some ‘what-if’ scenarios with other sources of income, including financial capital and Social Security.

Kathy Sutton, a director of editorial for Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc., suggested that people nearing retirement ought to pay special attention to inflation. “One likely scenario for Social Security is that cost-of-living adjustments may be calculated differently, resulting — though there have been no CPI adjustments lately — in lower annual adjustments”

Short-term interest rates to remain low
And investments, as most have already noticed this week, are affected by the new debt-ceiling law. Bob LeClair, an associate professor at Villanova University and a principal with Leimberg Information Services, Inc., predicts that short-term interest rates will remain low for quite some time, and it might be time to move assets around to get a bigger bang for the buck.

Investors have about $2.7 trillion in these short-term funds, essentially earning nothing, or next to it, said LeClair. So, investors — especially those who are living off the interest and dividend income — might want to rebalance their portfolios to generate a bit more income. They might, for instance, consider moving further out on the yield curve, say one to three years, to pick up some additional interest income. And they might consider investing in an index fund. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY +0.60% has a current dividend yield of about 2%. The Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade ( VFSTX 0.00% has a current yield of about 3% and the average maturity of the holdings in the fund is three years.

Of course, LeClair warned that moving further out on the yield curve and investing in index funds are not without risks. “You have to be prepared for the volatility that goes with them,” he said. “You can’t have your cake (higher income) and eat it, too — safety of principal.”

Bond funds would be subject to interest rate risk (as rates rise bond prices will fall), while stocks would be subject to market risk (the risk that stocks will decline in value for good and not-so-good reasons).

Others agree that moving out on the yield curve could be risky. “Seniors still need to keep an eye on interest rates, said Mary Frakes, a senior investing editor with Broadridge Investor Communications Solutions. “Even though the immediate threat of a downgrade (to U.S. credit rating) seems to be off the table with, at least, Moody’s Investors Services and Fitch Ratings, we’re still on negative watch for a potential downgrade later if deficit reduction levels aren’t deemed sufficient.”

And though interest rates may stay low for the immediate future, a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating or the Federal Reserve Bank eventually starting to raise interest rates would likely adversely affect bond portfolios. “Many seniors may not realize that bond prices fall as interest rates rise,” said Frakes. “There would be an upside, though, since rising rates would actually benefit senior savers who have maintained a solid cash position but have suffered from low rates.”

Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid providers
Medicare and Medicaid advocates are predicting that cuts to providers will adversely affect family physicians, hospitals and elderly patients. And that means retirees and would-be retirees need to plan ahead for the likely changes to Medicare and Medicaid.

There’s certainly going to be some uncertainty relating to Medicare, if the soon-to-be appointed committee doesn’t come up with recommendations that are passed by Dec. 23, 2011, automatic cuts will kick in beginning 2013, said Jim Walsh, vice president of editorial for Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions. “While Medicare beneficiaries won’t directly see a reduction in benefits were this to happen, it’s not hard to imagine some of the potential problems seniors may experience if there are further reductions in payments to providers. And of course, with ‘everything on the table’ as the committee looks for an additional $1.5 trillion in savings, it seems to me that all entitlement spending, including Social Security, faces some uncertainty.”

Read Powell’s column “Get ready for Social Security, Medicare meltdowns” for more advice on how to plan for possible changes to Medicare and Social Security.

Others, meanwhile, suggest that it might be high time to consider such products as long-term care insurance to insure against the risk of high out-of-pocket expenses in retirement. “There will be pressure to reduce health-care costs over the coming decade,” said LeClair. “More expenses will be pushed onto individuals.”

Given that, LeClair suggested that buying long-term care insurance might prove a wise and prudent decision. “The problem, however, is that it’s expensive and some retirees and near retirees may not be able to afford it or qualify for it,” he said.

Read Powell’s column “Retirement products: rising costs, fewer providers” to learn more about the current state of the long-term care insurance business.
Taxes to rise

Las Vegas might not have odds on this one just yet, but it is a good bet that state and local taxes will rise as the federal government doles less and less to states. “I call it ‘trickly-down austerity,’” said LeClair. “Local communities will have no alternative but to raise property taxes and other fees to make up the difference.”

LeClair’s advice: Retirees and those nearing retirement may want to think about relocating to communities and/or states that have lower tax rates if they can afford to do so.”

For his part, Mark Luscombe, a principal analyst with CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, said there is no immediate impact on retirees from the debt-ceiling law. Or at least there’s not from a tax point of view. No tax provisions were included in the legislation, Luscombe said. “The legislation did call for a joint Congressional committee to address tax reform by the end of the year and for Congress to approve that legislation to avoid across-the-board spending cuts. Even if that tax legislation were enacted, it is expected that the provisions would for the most part not be effective until 2013.”

Others, however, are predicting if not tax increases, some sort of tax reform. “In my opinion, I also think significant tax reform — not necessarily an overall increase — is a given in the next two years,” said Walsh.

With some provisions such as the Alternative Minimum Tax patch expiring, and current rates and other major provisions expiring at the end of 2012, something is going to happen, said Walsh. “It may not make a major difference to the average senior, but higher-income seniors could really be affected,” he said. “Throw in potential changes or expiration of current estate tax rules and higher-income seniors are going to have a lot to digest and deal with.”

Get ready to work longer
Given that retirees will likely pay more for health care in the future, that federal, state and local taxes will rise, that interest rates will remain low, and that there’s a potential for cuts in Social Security benefits, odds are high folks will either work longer or postpone retirement indefinitely.

“Part-time work may also become more common,” said LeClair. “Early retirement will fade and more people will work at least until they qualify for full Social Security benefits. Some may consider working until age 70 to maximize Social Security payments.”

[Read the MarketWatch Retirement Adviser special report on how to maximize your Social Security benefits while working.
Robert Powell is editor of Retirement Weekly, published by MarketWatch. Learn more about Retirement Weekly here. Follow his tweets here.
Robert Powell has been a journalist covering personal finance issues for more than 20 years, writing and editing for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and Mutual Fund Market News.]

Allen West of the far to far right!

- Republican Congressman Allen West in an e-mail to Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz:
“You are the most vile, unprofessional, and despicable member of the US House of Representatives... you are not a Lady.”

Last night, Republican Rep. Allen West sent a disgraceful e-mail outburst to one of our most accomplished colleagues in the House, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, telling her to “shut the heck up” for daring to challenge the GOP plan to gut Medicare and Social Security to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.

I wish I could say I was surprised. Unfortunately, this is exactly the sort of partisan tantrum we're used to from House Republicans as they push our economy to the brink of disaster while pandering to their Tea Party base.

This kind of appalling behavior is all too familiar from Congressman West, who has riled up his extremist right-wing base by attacking progressive women for “neutering American men,” calling supporters of President Obama, “a threat to the gene pool” and writing for a misogynist magazine that denigrated women with words I'd be ashamed to even repeat.

And now that he’s in Congress, West thinks he can attack a respected legislator like Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz with this kind of hate-filled screed.

Rep. Steve Israel
DCCC Chairman

So, who is this guy? Interesting..... http://tinyurl.com/2888sjx

NRA BOSS: OBAMA'S GONE

I'm posting this article from the U.S. News Weekly because I think as many folks as possible should read and know what the National Rifle Association is up to regarding the 2012 presidential election. They certainly have a right to their opinion but so do the rest of us! AlG

U.S.NEWS WEEKLY | June 24, 2011
Washington Whispers
By Paul Bedard
NRA Boss: Obama’s Gone

(The gun lobby plans to go after President Obama like it did in helping defeat then Vice President Al Gore)

The National Rifle Association has a rich history that goes back to shortly after the Civil War, when in 1871 Union veterans created it to train city-slicker troops who couldn’t hit the side of a barn with their musket shots. But as the 4 million-strong group readies its fight to oust President Obama in 2012, it has to go back only 11 years for a battle plan. That’s when the Second Amendment advocates mounted their biggest political effort ever to defeat then Vice President Al Gore by targeting key pro-gun Democratic states he needed to beat George W. Bush, like Arkansas.

“We actually knocked out a presidential candidate,” says new NRA President David Keene. He tells Whispers that 2012 might be an even more critical year for the NRA. That’s because the president, if re-elected, might have a chance to appoint more left-leaning Supreme Court justices who could undo Second Amendment protections and allow more gun control. “Our major goal is to defeat Obama because if he’s reelected, he’s going to attempt to change the Supreme Court. All he needs is one vote and he will rewrite the Second Amendment,” says Keene. “The threat,” he says, “in many ways is more severe than in 2000.” One reason: Obama, who slapped gun owners in his campaign, has gone quiet on gun issues as president, making it harder to rally NRA members. That was until gun foe Sarah Brady revealed in April that Obama told her he was working on the issue “under the radar.”

Keene reveals that the NRA plans to mobilize its troops with the hopes of taking away three to five states Obama won in 2008. Keene and Wayne LaPierre, the gun group’s executive vice president, plan a massive education campaign that he says will warn members about an Obama second term. He also says the NRA is seeking to register the up to 25 million gun owners not signed up to vote. He figures getting 5 million to 10 million to the polls would change the election’s outcome. “We know how they’ll vote,” he says. Keene also wants to add more women and younger shooters to the roster and to corral traditionally conservative home-school families. “I’m trying to make sure that there will be just as many people involved in the shooting sports next generation as this,” he says.

Formerly head of the American Conservative Union, Keene says he timed his NRA presidency to coincide with Obama’s re-election. He credits LaPierre for getting him involved, especially now to help with election messaging. “This is a moment of extreme danger,” he says. But, the longtime hunter adds, it’s still a fun job. “I love it.”

Is ‘Made in America’ Making a Comeback? The global economic climate might be ripe for a manufacturing renaissance.

The United States is enjoying a resurgence in manufacturing not seen since the 1970s, when the country shifted to a primarily service-based economy. Strong growth in machinery exports and auto sales are leading the rally in the chronically weak manufacturing sector, a trend President Obama said must continue in order to buoy the country’s depressed job market and lackluster economic expansion.

The president has crafted an ambitious plan to double exports over the next five years to jump-start the economy and energize job growth. “We are in a tough fight to get past the crippling recession,” Obama told Northern Virginia Community College students last week. “Before this recession, manufacturing had weakened. The answer is not to turn back. That’s how we’re going to win the fight.”

Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show durable-goods manufacturing—which includes products such as automobiles and heavy-construction machinery—led the economic recovery in seven of the eight regions BEA tracks, with significant gains in Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Tennessee.

Experts say a multitude of interrelated factors point to a longer-term “renaissance” in manufacturing — primarily increasing demand in rapidly growing emerging economies such as China and Brazil. “If you look at the industries that have been growing—machinery, for instance—they’re taking advantage of opportunities overseas,” says Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers. “They see Brazil, China, India as major areas [in which] to grow.”

Multinational manufacturing companies based in the United States, such as Boeing and Caterpillar, have already seen the benefits of an uptick in demand abroad. Primarily thanks to increased demand and higher prices for commodities, Caterpillar’s exports surged to $13.4 billion in 2010, a 30 percent jump from the previous year. The company, which specializes in mining and construction equipment, also recorded its all-time best profits in the first quarter of 2011. “If the price of copper is above a certain threshold, those mining companies that are in the copper business are more likely to invest in increasing capacity to mine more, [which] creates demand for our products,” says Caterpillar spokesman Jim Dugan.

The rising middle class in developing nations also feeds into the relatively positive outlook for manufacturing. Aside from greater demand for the raw materials and components needed to produce consumer products like microwaves and cellphones, increased investment in roads and housing benefits companies like Caterpillar. “A big part of it is the commodity demand, but as this mass urbanization takes place and these developing countries see a rising tide in the standard of living, there’s also more investment in infrastructure and construction work,” Dugan says.

After decades of lagging the global manufacturing industry, the domestic sector will continue to bounce back, experts say, mainly because global economic shifts have increased the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. Two decades of tough competition from export-based economies like China has forced domestic manufacturers to cut costs and improve productivity. These adaptations have allowed companies to cull more “profit per job,” effectively easing cost pressures.

A weaker U.S. dollar has also helped the manufacturing renaissance gain traction. A stronger currency generally makes U.S. exports more expensive abroad, which has historically crippled demand for American products. But that trend has reversed as the dollar has fallen against other major currencies.

The changing fortune of the industry will likely be gradual. For those keeping close tabs on sagging
employment numbers and weakening GDP gains, the outlook for manufacturing might be an unexpected source of salvation for the U.S. economy in the coming years.

By Meg Handley
Meg Handley is a reporter at U.S. News & World Report. Contact: http://www.usnews.com/

The current state of MEDICINE in the world and US

Vaccine deal could save lives of 4 million children
For the first time ever in many of the world's poorest countries, the rotavirus vaccine, among others, will be made available to children under an agreement between several drug companies and the GAVI alliance -- which over the next five years aims to vaccinate 50 million children, potentially saving up to 4 million lives. "This tremendous milestone means that we'll be able to save the lives of millions of children regardless of how poor they are," writes Melinda Gates, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a GAVI partner. The Huffington Post (6/6)

Tweak to malaria vaccine could boost effectiveness
Clinical trials of an enhancement to a new malaria vaccine were scheduled to begin this summer in a bid to increase the effectiveness of the drug 80%. The trials would measure the effects of an amended version of the current vaccine, to which scientists have added an engineered common cold virus intended to generate a stronger response by the immune system. Reuters (6/6)

New cancer treatments are unaffordable for many in U.S.
Cancer patients in the U.S. increasingly are unable to afford new advances in treatment, and are even abandoning medical care altogether as costs continue to spiral over the country's second-leading cause of death. "We're thrilled with what we consider to be breakthroughs and wonderful new therapies ... yet the barriers for some patients to get them is insurmountable. It is an indictment of how we take care of patients in the United States," says a pediatric oncologist. AlertNet/Reuters (6/6)

TAXES

You'd have to be a moron to suggest that people want to pay taxes - and that is what many politicians count on - "No new taxes!" I say "HOGWASH!"

We do have to pay for the services all of our various governments provide including our roads, highways, bridges, etc.; our safety, including police and military, our health such as the FDA, Medicare, Medicade, NIH, etc. It is government which provides our law and order, protects and/or provides for out disaster care, fights our wildfires, mitigates flooding and tornado disasters to say nothing of hurricanes. It is the government who provides the energy we need for our standard of living through its grid policies, pipeline permissions, mining controls (and safety) - and on, and on and on!

As a matter of fact, private industry is HIRED by the government to provide those services which would never EVER be provided by private industry on its own - simply because very little that government does for the people is profitable without being subsidized by government! Private industry operates exclusively on the profit principle -- if it isn't profitable it isn't worth doing!

And what is the government? The government is you and I. We do have to pay our way in this life.

Big Win for Bison! plus a bit about Brucellosis, etc.

Big Win for Bison!
John Motsinger | Posted on 15 April 2011 | Tags: Yellowstone [Defenders of Wildlife]
More great news from Montana . Montana officials have finalized a deal that will open 75,000 acres in southern Montana for bison to roam outside of Yellowstone National Park. The partners of the Interagency Bison Management Plan hosted an open house in Gardiner, Mont., last night to discuss the latest changes to the plan. The agreement between eight state, federal and tribal agencies has been in the making for several weeks, while more than 600 bison are still being kept at a capture facility until spring.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.....so I did a little research of my own on Brucellosis carried by some wild bison and the primary reason local ranchers are afraid to have Yellowstone bison on "their" Federal lands.

Brucellosis, also known as: Rock fever; Cyprus fever; Undulant fever; Gibraltar fever; Malta fever; Mediterranean fever

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by contact with animals carrying bacteria called Brucella.

Prevention
Drinking and eating only pasteurized milk and cheeses is the most important preventative measure. People who handle meat should wear protective glasses and clothing and protect skin breaks from infection. Detecting infected animals controls the infection at its source.

Vaccination is available for cattle, but not humans. [PubMed Health] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov So I would assume that it wouldn't be too difficult to vaccinate all of Yellowstone's bison to alleviate those fears.

Also, such fussing is not new. It seems that in the 1870's, ranchers in Kansas passed laws against Texas beef being herded to the rail-heads in Kansas for shipment to Chicago's markets because of a tick borne disease known as Texas fever. Seems that Texas longhorns were immune to the disease yet carried the ticks, but Kansas cattle were not and thus suffered from contact with the Texas cattle. Actually, the ticks and fever were first noted in Pennsylvania and after the Civil War in other southern states.

Items of Interest for April 18, 2011

Indian arrests reveal corruption in granting of pilot licenses
NEW DELHI — An Indian pilot made news here in January when she landed an Airbus 320 passenger plane on its nose wheel. Investigators soon discovered several alarming things: Parminder Kaur Gulati had not only made that dangerous mistake before, she also had earned her senior pilot’s license through fake grades.
(The Washington Post)


Humanitarian aid deal reached between UN, Gadhafi
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the world body has come to an agreement with the government of Moammar Gadhafi, the embattled leader of Libya, to provide humanitarian aid in the capital, Tripoli. A Libyan spokesman added that the deal also provides for a corridor of safe passage to city of Misrata, which is under siege by forces loyal to Gadhafi, to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Google/The Associated Press (4/18)

Sugar cane fields give Brazil double benefits
The cultivation of sugar cane in Brazil as a means to provide an alternative fuel source for vehicles is also helping to cool local air temperatures, researchers said in report published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The benefit, researchers said, occurs when sugar cane fields are introduced into existing agricultural efforts to replace crops like soy beans. AlertNet/Reuters (4/17)

"Endangered Earth - online" newsletter

Among a number of other social and environmental groups, I receive a weekly email from the Center for Biological Diversity.

Of them all, I find their "Endangered Earth - online" email the most interesting! .......and diverse! They also have a similar homesite (below) and a site on FaceBook, but I find those sites too cluttered and distracting whereas the email is a very well done environmental interactive newsletter! I think you can sign up for the newslatter at: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

Center Wins Top Props in Green Choice Campaign
"After overwhelmingly positive reviews rolled in from our supporters, this month the Center for Biological Diversity took a top spot among 128 environmental groups competing in this year's Green Choice Campaign, a contest by GreatNonprofits to peg the best-reviewed green groups in the country. According to input from people like you, the Center is "unrivaled in its successful protection of imperiled species" and "gets more bang for the buck than any other environmental organization." Many called us the best eco-group they follow. We're so glad to hear that -- and your praise keeps us going. Thank you."

Kierán Suckling Executive Director

I live in Northern Arizona where a large number of right-wing Republicans and Libertarians rule. However, there are some of us who are not in lockstep with the locals.

A response to a column in today's paper was, I think, so well expressed that I'd like to post it here:

Article comment by: mi[n]dless pap

What? You need to go read the preamble to the US Constitution. Concentrate on where it says, "provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare".

So now for all those ice tea bag partiers out there who think they know all about constitutional law, concentrate on this, Especially in Article 1, Section 8.: "Congress shall......provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States. ....To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts."

OK. So who decides what is a useful art? The ice tea bag party? Boehner? Give me a break.

Germany with one third the population we have and much higher wage and benefit costs is number 1 in per capita export manufacturing in the world. Why? It sounds to me like they read our constitution and applied what it says. Now of course some wise ice tea bag partier in Kingman is going to tell me that if I like Germany so much why don't I get out of Kingman so the ice tea bag party can take over. Sorry, but I'm here to stay. [...and I'm staying also!]

Obviously if we didn't have the convergence of GOD and politics in the republican party that the super-capitalists and their corporatist minions on Wall Street have used to de-industrialize our nation we wouldn't be in the predicament we are in. We would have something that Germany, Japan, and China have, called an industrial policy. We would be negotiating fair trade agreements instead of free trade agreements which don't promote the general welfare of the people. We wouldn't have a military-industrial complex that serves a few insider politicians and corporations and their lobbyists. It sounds to me like these other nations have read our constitution and applied what it says. How come we can't do that? Because the GOD squad says we have to apply Biblical law in the US. Here is what I have to say about that. .....Biblical, shmiblical.

......well said, I think! AG

The extremes of Christianity and Muslim religion

We have a serious problem in our world of 7+ billion folks who are very different from one another and are generally intollerant of anyone not of their culture nor beliefs.

One of the primary problems, obviously, is religion which controlls the minds of a majority of peoples with supernatural beliefs and expectations. Unfortunately many become zealots for their own beliefs and therefore militant. Below is an example of the clash between extremists on both sides which end in the deaths of innocent people who were actually unaware of their peril until too late.

What I'm referring to is the Mazar-e-Sharif UN attack and massacre by radical Muslims as published in the Wall Street Journal (4/4).

"Thousands of worshippers, flogged into a rage by sermons denouncing a burning of the Quran by a fringe preacher in the United States, spilled out of the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif and marched about a mile to the UN compound and attacked UN workers inside, easily overwhelming the 60 or so Afghan police who tried to protect the site. One safe room at the UN compound proved ineffective in sheltering those inside. The attack developed so quickly that U.S. forces were unable to mobilize in time to intervene." http://tinyurl.com/3oyr2y8

So what spark initiated this rampage?

"It was the Quran-burning, held March 20 at the Dove World Outreach Center by church leader Terry Jones in Gainesville, Fla., was "hateful, extremely disrespectful and enormously intolerant," Gen. Petraeus said.

Now Jones is an American and living in an American sub-culture of Free Speech/Religion advocates who wantonly does what he wants in a Constitutional America without regard to the rest of the world. He is certainly not alone, but the rest of us Americans have to live with the shame he has placed upon us.

There were innocent human lives sacrificed because of this jerk who should somehow be forced to face trial and imprisionment - not by an American "Constitutional" court, but by an international court of crimes against humanity.

It is sad that so many of us use the Constitutional Bill of Rights to enable violations against our fellow citizens and others in the world.

For example, the 1st Amendment says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof......." The problem with this amendment is the phrase, "...or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....." because we see what certain religious zealots can behave over and above the wishes, desires or welfare of the American people or, indeed, the people of the world!

Terry Jones is fully within his American rights, but is in reality an international criminal! Our only hope is that one of our Muslim-Americans might decide to "jehad (right word?)" our despised Reverend Jones. I certainly wouldn't weep a tear over that bastard or the congregation who encourages him!

http://tinyurl.com/3oyr2y8

Japanese reactor problems as of 3-15-11

As a subscriber to "Friends of the Earth" website, what follows is their analysis of the problems. They are serious!

I have always been pro nuclear energy, but this does give me pause.... We may learn a lot by the Japanese experience in how to safely harness this great energy source which provides 20% of our energy needs. The reactors in Japan are for the most part very similar to those we have in this country also made by GE.

We should remember that when one deals with energy, there is always danger such as coal mine disasters, oil field blowouts as we've seen recently, etc. But without energy we don't have electricity, fuel for our cars, trains or airplanes.

We consume 25% of the world's energy to feed our perhaps over-abundant life styles, so we must live and learn - and rejecting any source of energy is not reasonable without serious consideration.

Dear Allan,

Please continue to check our website for more information. You can send us questions by clicking here.

I wish I had better news for you on the tragic disaster in Japan. As its magnitude becomes more apparent, please join me once again in sending thoughts or prayers to the people of Japan.

As earthquake recovery is beginning in the city of Sendai and the surrounding Miyagi Prefecture, the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi site is growing grimmer by the hour. When we last wrote to you, our focus was on reactors #1 and #3 at the Fukushima Daiichi site, where there are six reactors total. At the time, hydrogen explosions had occurred at the buildings in which reactors #1 and #3 are housed, and the government and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) officials were fighting to regain control of the reactor cooling in order to prevent a total meltdown. We are fairly certain that fuel rods in both these reactors have at least partially melted.

Since then, significant problems have occurred at reactors #2 and #4. Reactor #2 experienced an explosion worse than the previous explosions -- it may have damaged the reactor casing itself. News reports, as well as information from our colleagues in Japan, indicate that the fuel rods at reactor #2 have been partially or fully exposed due to loss of coolant. Without circulating water to keep the fuel rods cool, they can heat to temperatures as high as 2000 degrees Celsius and melt into a molten pool of radioactive slag. This slag has the capacity to burn through containment vessels and then emit high amounts of radiation and radioactive materials into the environment. We are still seeking information that describes the true extent of the damage.

In addition, the pool containing used nuclear reactor fuel rods at reactor #4 caught on fire, leading to radioactive releases high enough to endanger the brave workers and first responders who remain on-site attempting to prevent full meltdowns. The spent fuel rods need to be kept cool for several years after they are removed from a reactor. Recent reports indicate that the spent fuel pool at reactor #4 is at its boiling point and could be unapproachable. We are beginning to hear reports that the spent fuel pools at reactors #5 and #6 are heating up as well. This situation is still fluid, but problems with spent fuel pools could limit workers' capacity to gain control of the reactors. If additional fires and explosions occur at the pools, they could lead to massive radioactive releases.

Following our first update, we heard from many members asking about the impact of the radiation from the reactors in Japan and what implications this has for the United States. We are talking to experts and compiling information and resources on our website. But I want to offer an important caveat: the Japanese government, as well as TEPCO, may not be providing accurate information about radiation readings and our understanding of the situation depends on their reports.

I wish I had better news. I hope from the bottom of my heart that the Japanese government and the utility and its brave workers are successful at gaining control of the reactors and spent fuel pools. Unfortunately, if the situation gets worse, we are likely facing a human and environmental catastrophe.

Regards,
Erich

Erich Pica
President, Friends of the Earth

Moore's speech in Madison...

America Is NOT Broke ...the Madison speech by Michael Moore

Delivered in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, March 5th, 2011. Video available here.

America is not broke.

Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you'll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.

Today just 400 Americans have the same wealth as half of all Americans combined.

Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have as much loot, stock and property as the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can't bring yourself to call that a financial coup d'état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.

And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we'd have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic -- and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it.

I have nothing more than a high school degree. But back when I was in school, every student had to take one semester of economics in order to graduate. And here's what I learned: Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows when we make things. It grows when we have good jobs with good wages that we use to buy the things we need and thus create more jobs. It grows when we provide an outstanding educational system that then grows a new generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and thinkers who come up with the next great idea for the planet. And that new idea creates new jobs and that creates revenue for the state. But if those who have the most money don't pay their fair share of taxes, the state can't function. The schools can't produce the best and the brightest who will go on to create those jobs. If the wealthy get to keep most of their money, we have seen what they will do with it: recklessly gamble it on crazy Wall Street schemes and crash our economy. The crash they created cost us millions of jobs. That too caused a reduction in tax revenue. Everyone ended up suffering because of what the rich did.

The nation is not broke, my friends. Wisconsin is not broke. Saying that the country is broke is repeating a Big Lie. It's one of the three biggest lies of the decade: 1) America is broke, 2) Iraq has WMD, and 3) The Packers can't win the Super Bowl without Brett Favre.

The truth is, there's lots of money to go around. LOTS. It's just that those in charge have diverted that wealth into a deep well that sits on their well-guarded estates. They know they have committed crimes to make this happen and they know that someday you may want to see some of that money that used to be yours. So they have bought and paid for hundreds of politicians across the country to do their bidding for them. But just in case that doesn't work, they've got their gated communities, and the luxury jet is always fully fueled, the engines running, waiting for that day they hope never comes. To help prevent that day when the people demand their country back, the wealthy have done two very smart things:

1. They control the message. By owning most of the media they have expertly convinced many Americans of few means to buy their version of the American Dream and to vote for their politicians. Their version of the Dream says that you, too, might be rich some day -- this is America, where anything can happen if you just apply yourself! They have conveniently provided you with believable examples to show you how a poor boy can become a rich man, how the child of a single mother in Hawaii can become president, how a guy with a high school education can become a successful filmmaker. They will play these stories for you over and over again all day long so that the last thing you will want to do is upset the apple cart -- because you -- yes, you, too! -- might be rich/president/an Oscar-winner some day! The message is clear: keep you head down, your nose to the grindstone, don't rock the boat and be sure to vote for the party that protects the rich man that you might be some day.

2. They have created a poison pill that they know you will never want to take. It is their version of mutually assured destruction. And when they threatened to release this weapon of mass economic annihilation in September of 2008, we blinked. As the economy and the stock market went into a tailspin, and the banks were caught conducting a worldwide Ponzi scheme, Wall Street issued this threat: Either hand over trillions of dollars from the American taxpayers or we will crash this economy straight into the ground. Fork it over or it's Goodbye savings accounts. Goodbye pensions. Goodbye United States Treasury. Goodbye jobs and homes and future. It was friggin' awesome and it scared the shit out of everyone. "Here! Take our money! We don't care. We'll even print more for you! Just take it! But, please, leave our lives alone, PLEASE!"

The executives in the board rooms and hedge funds could not contain their laughter, their glee, and within three months they were writing each other huge bonus checks and marveling at how perfectly they had played a nation full of suckers. Millions lost their jobs anyway, and millions lost their homes. But there was no revolt (see #1).

Until now. On Wisconsin! Never has a Michigander been more happy to share a big, great lake with you! You have aroused the sleeping giant known as the working people of the United States of America. Right now the earth is shaking and the ground is shifting under the feet of those who are in charge. Your message has inspired people in all 50 states and that message is: WE HAVE HAD IT! We reject anyone who tells us America is broke and broken. It's just the opposite! We are rich with talent and ideas and hard work and, yes, love. Love and compassion toward those who have, through no fault of their own, ended up as the least among us. But they still crave what we all crave: Our country back! Our democracy back! Our good name back! The United States of America. NOT the Corporate States of America. The United States of America!

So how do we make this happen? Well, we do it with a little bit of Egypt here, a little bit of Madison there. And let us pause for a moment and remember that it was a poor man with a fruit stand in Tunisia who gave his life so that the world might focus its attention on how a government run by billionaires for billionaires is an affront to freedom and morality and humanity.

Thank you, Wisconsin. You have made people realize this was our last best chance to grab the final thread of what was left of who we are as Americans. For three weeks you have stood in the cold, slept on the floor, skipped out of town to Illinois -- whatever it took, you have done it, and one thing is for certain: Madison is only the beginning. The smug rich have overplayed their hand. They couldn't have just been content with the money they raided from the treasury. They couldn't be satiated by simply removing millions of jobs and shipping them overseas to exploit the poor elsewhere. No, they had to have more -- something more than all the riches in the world. They had to have our soul. They had to strip us of our dignity. They had to shut us up and shut us down so that we could not even sit at a table with them and bargain about simple things like classroom size or bulletproof vests for everyone on the police force or letting a pilot just get a few extra hours sleep so he or she can do their job -- their $19,000 a year job. That's how much some rookie pilots on commuter airlines make, maybe even the rookie pilot who flew me here to Madison today. He told me he's stopped hoping for a pay increase. All he's asking for now is enough down time so that he doesn't have to sleep in his car between shifts at O'Hare airport. That's how despicably low we have sunk! The wealthy couldn't be content with just paying this man $19,000 a year. They had to take away his sleep. They had to demean him and dehumanize him and rub his face in it. After all, he's just another slob, isn't he?

And that, my friends, is Corporate America's fatal mistake. But trying to destroy us they have given birth to a movement -- a movement that is becoming a massive, nonviolent revolt across the country. We all knew there had to be a breaking point some day, and that point is upon us. Many people in the media don't understand this. They say they were caught off guard about Egypt, never saw it coming. Now they act surprised and flummoxed about why so many hundreds of thousands have come to Madison over the last three weeks during brutal winter weather. "Why are they all standing out there in the cold?" I mean, there was that election in November and that was supposed to be that!

"There's something happening here, and you don't know what it is, do you ...?"

America ain't broke! The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers. And we aim to fix that compass and steer the ship ourselves from now on. Never forget, as long as that Constitution of ours still stands, it's one person, one vote, and it's the thing the rich hate most about America -- because even though they seem to hold all the money and all the cards, they begrudgingly know this one unshakeable basic fact: There are more of us than there are of them!

Madison, do not retreat. We are with you. We will win together.

Male aggression caused by hormones, or something?

Wild and Weird: Male Squids Go Berserk

Even wonder why squids go berserk? We didn't either, until we read about scientists who recently discovered a molecule that makes male squids go mad with aggression. Investigating the longfin squid during mating season, biologists found that males were visually attracted to masses of eggs laid on the sea floor -- and when they came into contact with a single protein on the eggs' surface, they instantly went from swimming calmly to extreme belligerence. Males grappled with each other, lunged at each other and beat their fins, apparently in an attempt to get at females (even when females were nowhere to be seen). The molecule appears to be the first aggression-causing pheromone -- a secreted chemical that triggers a social reaction in animals -- known in any marine creature.

Interestingly, the pheromone in question is similar to a protein found in other animals . . . including at high levels in human males. The bar-brawl molecule, perhaps?

Read more in The Christian Science Monitor.

Condoms..... huh?

I was reading my daily 'Center for biological diversity' email and it provide this interesting - even titilating - point of view regarding endangered species and overpopulation -- yeah, I know.... huh?

Endangered Species Condoms Win Ad Award; Take Action Against Overpopulation

Our wildly popular Endangered Species Condoms are getting some additional love. This week we found out the colorfully packaged condoms, part of our campaign highlighting the connection between overpopulation and species extinction, won the American Advertising Federation's gold ADDY Award in Tucson in the "public service" category. In case you haven't seen them, the nifty condom packages feature illustrations of six different endangered species, along with catchy slogans like "Cover your tweedle, save the burying beetle" and "Wear a jimmy hat, save the big cat." The Center handed out 350,0000 condoms last year and hopes to send more out soon to draw attention to this crucial issue. Through the empowerment of women, education of all people and universal access to birth control, we can curb our population to an ecologically safe level.

But some members of Congress are making that very hard. In fact, the House has just passed a bill to cut government funding for critical programs like women's health clinics -- which for millions of people provide the only available access to reproductive services, family planning and birth control. With this February marking Global Population Speak Out month, it's time to tell our elected representatives they should be expanding those programs, not cutting them -- for the sake of our planet and the public.

Check out our Endangered Species Condoms Project and sign the GPSO pledge. Then learn more about the legislative attack on family-planning services from politico.com and contact your senators asking them to counter it.

---

Wind energy in Kingman, Arizona

Two or three years ago it was announced by our local newspaper, 'The Kingman Daily Miner' (KDM) that Western Wind Energy had purchased desert land to install windmills for renewable energy.

Having seen quite often when living in northern California the spectacular windmills at Altamont Pass and also the windmills in Tehachapi and those just north of Palm Springs, I became excited by the idea because we certainly have as much if not more wind here in Kingman, Arizona.

It is not always windy here, but I live on a ridge south of town and the wind here is more prevalent than absent. I have a heavy ceramic tile roof and the wind can be strong enough to dislodge some tiles and last year my non-tiled south porch roof was peeled back onto the house with a loud boom! Fortunately insurance took care of it. Many mobile homes down in town have old used tires to weigh down their roofs. This is not tornado country, and the winds are called "straight winds" but they can happen as "micro-bursts" and quite unexpectedly.

I looked into the company, Canadian, which has interests in the California windfarms so primarily to be "Green" I bought a thousand shares which were and still are cheap but my primary interest in them was that they've been around for a number of years and they do good things. I certainly don't, at my age, expect to make any money but rather to do the right thing - isn't that what "Greenies" do?

The following is a piece in today's KDM indicating that the project is finally coming to fruition, since I can see forever to the south, I hope next spring to see windmills on my horizon! I should mention that small private windmills are cropping up all over town.

KINGMAN - Western Wind Energy has started work on the first renewable energy project under construction in Mohave County.

"We will be erecting five 270-foot towers with blades that are about 175 feet," Western Wind Energy Vice-President of Development Mike Boyd said. "This is a unique project. The pads are almost completed. This is the first utility-scale, integrated wind and solar energy project in the United States."

According to the Western Wind website, construction on the company's "wholly owned 10.5-megawatt combined wind and solar project" began in "December 2010, and commercial operations are estimated to commence in the third quarter of 2011 ... The project is fully zoned for wind energy ... The company has signed a power purchase agreement with UNS Electric, Inc., a subsidiary of UniSource Energy Corporation of Arizona."

The project is east of Interstate 40 and the railroad tracks, south of Kingman, "approximately one section of land east of the Nucor Steel plant," Boyd said. "It's at the end of Old Trails Road. The project is on 808 acres. The area is currently being graded. We expect the turbines to arrive and start going up on April 15. This project will be completed in the middle of July."

A 10-acre area is currently being prepared for photovoltaic solar panels, he said. Power from the wind turbines and solar panels will go to the substation and, from there, go on a line "across BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land to the interconnect utility" to feed the power to UniSource. The total of 10.5-megawatts is enough to power approximately 4,000 homes.

"Western Wind is an energy development company," Boyd said. "RMT, our environmental procurement contracting company, is a huge international construction company. We have a number of local contractors, as well. Whenever it is not a totally specialized service, we hire local contractors."

RMT, Inc. Project Manager Bob Tepp is overseeing construction.

"We broke ground on December 28," Tepp said. The roads and pads are currently being graded. "The road will be widened to 32 feet across" to allow a crane to be brought up and assembled "on the site and be able to walk from pad to pad" to construct the towers and turbines along a ridge that is between 3,400 and 3,600 feet above sea level.

"I commend Western Wind Energy and UniSource for locating this sustainable energy project in Mohave County," County Economic Development Department Director Travis Lingenfelter said. "According to Western Wind Energy's corporate office, this project represents a total investment of approximately $28 million, which demonstrates their confidence in the future of the renewable energy sector here in northwest Arizona."

Western Wind "has been very easy to work with," Mohave County Planning and Zoning Manager Christine Ballard said. "They have always kept a good line of communication open. If we needed anything, they got it to us. Once they got the green light to go, they have been very responsive in getting information back to us."

"Their initial contact with us was back in 2005," County Planner John Montgomery said. "In the beginning, they were looking at more turbines of a smaller size. But that changed. First they got their zoning approved and then things were on hold for a while. We went through a series of extensions of time for them and then, in the last few months, they've had big activity."

"RMT is currently cutting in roads and doing the pads for the wind generators and the solar field," County Chief Building Official Ronald Durgin said. "They will be picking up the permits for the foundations for the five wind generators. They just submitted the final plans for the wind generators yesterday (Wednesday, Feb. 16). This is pretty much a six-month time frame from start to finish."

As well as a $28 million investment in the area, which includes many construction jobs, Mohave County will potentially garner between $80,000 and $100,000 in permitting fees to pay for the review and inspection processes, Ballard said.

"I'm dealing with the RMT project manager on the field operations," Durgin said. "My (Building) division is involved in the review of construction plan documents and getting materials ready for permits to be issued. We also do all the field inspections and follow through on construction. Our job goes through the whole process until the project is completed. They (RMT) are very well organized and efficient in what they do. Their schedule has been pretty aggressive."

Mohave County has two types of renewable energy projects on the books, Ballard said. "We have the large-scale types that are going to tie into the WAPA (Western Area Power Administration) grid. Then we have the smaller plants that will tie into another merchant or local utility, like UniSource."

UniSource has its own proposed photovoltaic project, Durgin said.

"The next one (wind energy project) that seems to be moving forward is the BP (British Petroleum) project up in White Hills," Montgomery said. "Right now they are in the process with BLM on the environmental impact statement."

Brace for a showdown as Tea Party sponsored government shutdown looms

If enacted as is, the GOP plan would eliminate numerous programs, including the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program, and it would terminate federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It would cut $600 million from border security and immigration programs. It would eliminate nearly $80 million for the District and slash funding for the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay.

On Friday and Saturday, Republicans approved measures that would provide narrow savings but impose sharp policy prescriptions, including the abolition of any federal funding going to Planned Parenthood and the restriction of any funds going toward the implementation of Obama's health-care law.

The cuts to government would amount to 61 billion dollars which is a drop in the bucket for the deficit which amounts to 1.7 trillion dollars or about 3.4%. So we would reduce the amount we add to the national debt by that much, but what each and every one of us would have to pay to eliminate the national debt would be $44,900! Now, most of us have mortgages on our homes which amount to more than that and at the rate of inflation, we'd probably never feel the pinch if we actually had to pay it off.

On the other hand, the aforementioned programs involve some very talented employees who would necessarily lose their jobs just when employment is at its lowest. Do those of you in the workforce want to compete with these newly unemployed?

I'm sure that those of us in the southwest would hate to have the government reduce spending on border security and immigration, but that will be the case under the new rules if enacted. I'd suspect that we'd revert to open borders like we used to have with Canada.

After all, we're all good trading partners and open borders are much cheaper to maintain. Mexicans are willing to do work most Americans won't. As to the drug trade, if we were to legalize drugs and tax their sale, just as we have (even here in Arizona) with marijuana, we'd quickly eliminate our national debt. ...and, of course, if we were to drastically cut Pentagon spending and bring our boys home, we'd quickly eliminate our deficit!!!

It is highly time for us to reconsider our priorities. What is it that we want government to do? Should we police the world or should we care about our citizens and make their lives better through health care, education and the elimination of poverty?